) The Assassins re-emerged in history as the Ismaili sect, lead by their religious and spirtual head known as the Aga Khan.
Pop literature is replete with fascinating stories of the Aga Khan family, particularly the escapades of Aly Khan. While these stories can make for sordid reading -- with the luxious villas, the fast cars, the lavish parites, the stables of racehorses, and movie-star marriages -- the story of the Aga Khans also carries profound spiritual and philanthropic messages.
The Throne of Gold: The Lives of the Aga Khans by Anne Edwards was one of the more easily accessible books on this topics. (Although not that easy; I had heard about it and a first edition hardcover finally showed up on eBay. See if any are available now.) One of the reviews on Amazon reamed this book for historical inaccuracies, but ultimately I liked the book because it mixed in enough of the extravagant stories with a respectful outlook towards the family. Earlier articles I had read always focused on the more debauched lifestyles of the family (the extra-marital affairs, Aly Khan's sexual training in Cairo, the celebration of the Aga Khan's Golden Jubilee with the gifts of gold equal to their leader's weight, the racehorses and intrugies in the turf clubs, the treasures held by the family, etc.) which is interesting for a little bit and then gets boring very quickly. It was interesting to read how the stables of racehorses actually made money for the Aga Khans which they then ploughed back into public services. It was intesting to understand how the Aga Khans, without an exception, encouraged their followers to become educated and how they set up schools, clinics, and other community program to help their followers.
[A search for "aga khan" on eBay, yeild interesting results every now such as memorabilia around one the Khan's famous studs.]
